Hurricane Preparedness for Healthcare Businesses

Hurricanes can cause major losses for your business, both to the physical building and by potentially costing your business income as you wait for repairs. Planning ahead can help protect your property, safeguard patient information, and make it easier to resume serving your community after the storm.

Prepare Your Building and Operations

• Monitor forecasts and follow evacuation orders and other instructions from local officials.
• Inspect the roof, windows, doors, gutters, drains, and exterior signage. Complete needed repairs and secure shutters or approved window protection.
• Bring outdoor furniture, signs, waste containers, and other loose items inside.
• Protect medications, vaccines, specimens, temperature-sensitive inventory, and essential equipment.
• Elevate equipment, supplies, and stock above expected flood levels. Use watertight containers where appropriate.
• Shut down utilities and equipment only when it is safe and consistent with manufacturer guidance. Keep instructions and vendor contacts readily available.
• Photograph or record the building, equipment, and inventory before the storm. Keep receipts for protective materials and emergency work.

Protect Documents and Patient Information

• Back up electronic health records, billing data, schedules, payroll files, and other essential business information. Confirm that backups are secure, encrypted when appropriate, and accessible from an alternate location.
• Store insurance policies, leases, licenses, vendor agreements, equipment records, financial information, and current inventory lists in a protected digital location. Keep a secure offline copy when practical.
• Move paper records and portable devices away from windows and floors and into locked, water-resistant storage.
• Limit access to protected health information during preparation, relocation, and recovery to those with the proper data security training.
• Test backups and remote access before a storm threatens your area. A backup is only useful if authorized staff can retrieve it safely.

Keep Employees and Customers Safe

• Create a written emergency response plan with clear triggers for closing, evacuating, sheltering, and reopening.
• Assign responsibilities and a chain of command for emergency situations.
• Create multiple channels to reach employees and customers, such as phone, text, email, your website, and social media. Identify who will approve and send updates.
• Coordinate continuity of care, prescription access, appointment changes, and referrals with appropriate partners. Share only the information needed and permitted.
• Practice the plan, review it at least annually, and update it when staffing, locations, systems, or services change.

Return Safely and Start Recovery

• Wait for local authorities to say it is safe to return. Watch for floodwater, unstable structures, damaged electrical systems, gas leaks, contaminated materials, and other hazards.
• Do not enter a visibly unsafe building or use damaged equipment.
• Document damage before moving or discarding property. Take wide and close-up photos or video and make a written list of affected buildings, equipment, inventory, and records.
• Take reasonable steps to prevent further damage when it is safe to do so, such as covering an exposed opening or moving undamaged property out of wet areas.
• Use reputable, insured contractors. Be cautious about large upfront payments, pressure tactics, and repair agreements you do not understand.
• Keep receipts, estimates, invoices, and a log of cleanup, mitigation, and business interruption expenses.
• Communicate reopening plans only after confirming that the location, equipment, systems, and staffing are ready to support safe operations.

File a Claim as Soon as Possible

If your business experiences storm damage, contact your insurance agent for guidance on next steps. You can also report the loss directly through the Pharmacists Mutual Claims Center.

The sooner you report a claim, the sooner our team can begin the claims process and help you move toward getting your business back up and running.

Helpful Resources

• National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
• Weather Radio online: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/
• National Weather Service: http://www.weather.gov/
• Red Cross Hurricane Resources: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/hurricane.html
• Ready.Gov Information: https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes

This information is intended to provide general information only on specific risk management topics. It is not intended to provide coverage determinations or coverage positions, nor is it to be construed as legal, medical, or professional